Suspended sentence for man who cut off au pair’s underwear during sexual assault was too lenient, appeal court finds

Man sent to prison for two and a half years

A detective Garda told Brian Haig’s sentencing hearing that the woman fell asleep and woke at 6am to find Haig, fully naked, lying on on top of her. Picture: Denis Minihane

The fully suspended sentence handed down to a 40-year-old man who cut off an au pair’s underwear and sexually assaulted her while she slept was too lenient, the Court of Appeal found today as it sent him to jail for two and a half years.

Brian Haig, 40, of Roscrea, Co Tipperary, pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual assault at an address in the county on March 10, 2019. Judge Cormac Quinn imposed an 18-month suspended sentence at Tipperary Circuit Court on January 12, 2023.